Montana American Indian Mbrs Program

Young, David

Abstract

In Montana, American Indians represent the largest single minority group accounting for over 6% of the state's total population. Historically few Montana Indians have elected to pursue a health science curriculum in higher education. Accordingly, the major purpose of the Montana American Indian MBRS program is to increase the number of Indians in the biomedical/health sciences. The organizational setting for the Montana MBRS program is a unique state-wide consortium consisting of Montana State University (MSU), seven (7) Montana Tribal Community Colleges (TCC), the University of Montana and the College of Great Falls. The administrative and fiscal management of the program is housed at MSU. Montana's Indian leaders and MSU faculty are very concerned about the serious underrepresentation of Indians in biomedical and health science fields. Their interest and commitment to the consortium arrangement and the purpose of the program provides assurance that program goals will be achieved. Specific objectives of the program include: 1) to provide American Indian student an enrichment experience in biomedical research environments; 2) to expose American Indian students to a broad spectrum of career opportunities in biomedical fields; 3) to strengthen facilities, faculty, and resources in the sciences at the Montana TCC; 4) to develop and establish biomedical research programs at the Montana TCC; 5) to increase the level of awareness of problems resulting in the serious underrepresentation of American Indians in the biomedical fields. This state-wide program provides a unique interaction between biomedical science faculty and Indian students representing various tribal units. The multidisciplinary research subprojects will involve a total of 20 faculty and 31 Indian students. The proposed subprojects will expose Indian students to biomedical research problems both in the reservation community and in the university setting. The subprojects allow for an enriching interchange of faculty between MSU and the TCC. This interaction will result in an increased awareness and sensitivity to the problems involved in motivating and preparing Indian students to pursue biomedical career opportunities.